Patty Gasso

Entering her 30th season at the University of Oklahoma in 2024, NFCA Hall of Fame head coach Patty Gasso has molded the OU softball program into a national power and permanently placed herself among the elite college softball coaches in the country.

Oklahoma has won seven national championships (2000, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022 and 2023) and is one of just three programs in NCAA history to win more than two national titles. Gasso has reached the Women’s College World Series 16 times during her tenure, and has advanced to the postseason in each one of her 29 seasons (no tournament in 2020).

With 33 seasons as a head coach to her name, Gasso has a career collegiate coaching record of 1,617-404-3 (.799) and holds a record of 1,456-345-2 (.808) at OU.

She has won more Big 12 games (394-87; .819) than any coach in the league’s history and has more than twice as many overall wins as any other coach in OU annals. The Sooners have claimed 15 Big 12 regular season titles, including an unprecedented 11 straight since the 2012 season, and eight conference tournament titles under her direction. Gasso’s teams have finished second or higher 23 times in the 27 years since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996.

Numerous Sooner players have prospered under Gasso’s tutelage and garnered national, regional and conference recognition. Most recently, Jocelyn Alo helped lead the Sooners to back-to-back titles en route to winning consecutive USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year awards in 2021 and 2022. Keilani Ricketts was also a two-time USA Softball Player of the Year in 2012 and 2013. Gasso has recruited and coached 79 All-Americans, 145 All-Region honors and 192 all-conference selections at OU.

In the Big 12 era, Sooners have been named Big 12 Player of the Year a total of 16 times and Big 12 Pitcher of the Year nine times, while nine have been selected as Big 12 Freshman of the Year and one as Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. In 2010, Amber Flores became the first player in league history to earn player-of-the-year honors twice, Shelby Pendley joined her in 2015 before Alo claimed the honor in consecutive seasons in 2021 and 2022.

The OU softball success under Gasso has also spilled over into the classroom where the Sooners have been honored with 170 academic all-conference honors. Twenty of those have gone on to become Academic All-Americans, including Lana Moran, the 2000 Academic All-American of the Year.

Gasso and her staff have consistently been recognized for their efforts on and off the field. The staff was awarded three consecutive Speedline/NFCA Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year awards from 1999-2001 and received the national honor in 2000, 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2023. Gasso and staff have claimed the regional honor in 15 of their 29 seasons, with the most recent award coming in 2023. In addition, Gasso has been named the Big 12 Coach of the Year 15 times: 1996, 1999, 2000, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2023.